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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This is an interesting mystery and I enjoyed the unique setting. However, I felt like the book dragged a little bit. There are lots of areas of the book that flash back to Fin's childhood. I felt like they were a little bit boring and not necessary. You could probably read the first sentence of each paragraph and still get the story.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I first read this years ago, but had bought the audiobook in a sale. The narrator was excellent and really brought the island voices to life, and added a layer of depth to the story that isn't accessible when reading a book.
The story is told through a blend of present day action with extensive flashbacks to the protagonist's childhood and adolescence on the Isle of Lewis. I'm surprised to see reviews saying that the story is sluggish. I found it fast paced and absorbing. I'm looking forward to re-reading the rest of the trilogy.
The story is told through a blend of present day action with extensive flashbacks to the protagonist's childhood and adolescence on the Isle of Lewis. I'm surprised to see reviews saying that the story is sluggish. I found it fast paced and absorbing. I'm looking forward to re-reading the rest of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide
Minor: Death of parent
DNF 300 pages in, total disappointment.
A promising start, a gruesome murder on the Isle of Lewis and a similar case a few months prior in Edinburgh. DI Fin Macleod is sent to see if the cases are linked or just similar, but the book turns quickly from a murder mystery and into a trip down memory lane from the perspective of DI Fin.
Fin being from the isles hints several times that he knows the area and even the victim, but when every over chapter turns in to a 50 page monologue of what he was up to when he was 6/7/8 and so on, it becomes boring fast. I wouldn’t much mind this if it had purpose but most the time it’s 95% irrelevant information, that could have been told in 5 pages or less. I understand the author is trying to build character, but bloody hell, I’m not reading this book as the fictional DI Fin Macleods biography, I want to know about the murder.
The first 100 pages are okay, jumping past to present is annoying, but it’s the first book of a series so I just assumed it was letting us get a feel for the character. But when this continues on and on and on, it makes the actual murder secondary. Finding out about Fin’s upbringing and how he’s parents died, and how it was for him growing up, okay, thanks relevant I get a bit more about him now. But harping on about how he fancied this girl when he was 6, and repeating this for the age of 7 all the way until 18. It became tiresome.
Not badly written, but story wise just slow, sluggish, and once again boring. The final straw for me was 300 pages in and only about 30 of them where relevant to the mutilated corpse. Telling us story’s about this and that before helping us understand the crime. Leaving the book this far in could be a mistake, but I’ll be honest I can’t read through another 100 pages of past nonsense. And if I was to guess, then I would say someone from the past was involved in the murder, leaving about 3 suspects, great mystique.
Overall, a promising story that fails to deliver, reeling you in with promise of dark thriller and instead leaving you with a teenagers diary about drinking, smoking, shagging and not much else.
A promising start, a gruesome murder on the Isle of Lewis and a similar case a few months prior in Edinburgh. DI Fin Macleod is sent to see if the cases are linked or just similar, but the book turns quickly from a murder mystery and into a trip down memory lane from the perspective of DI Fin.
Fin being from the isles hints several times that he knows the area and even the victim, but when every over chapter turns in to a 50 page monologue of what he was up to when he was 6/7/8 and so on, it becomes boring fast. I wouldn’t much mind this if it had purpose but most the time it’s 95% irrelevant information, that could have been told in 5 pages or less. I understand the author is trying to build character, but bloody hell, I’m not reading this book as the fictional DI Fin Macleods biography, I want to know about the murder.
The first 100 pages are okay, jumping past to present is annoying, but it’s the first book of a series so I just assumed it was letting us get a feel for the character. But when this continues on and on and on, it makes the actual murder secondary. Finding out about Fin’s upbringing and how he’s parents died, and how it was for him growing up, okay, thanks relevant I get a bit more about him now. But harping on about how he fancied this girl when he was 6, and repeating this for the age of 7 all the way until 18. It became tiresome.
Not badly written, but story wise just slow, sluggish, and once again boring. The final straw for me was 300 pages in and only about 30 of them where relevant to the mutilated corpse. Telling us story’s about this and that before helping us understand the crime. Leaving the book this far in could be a mistake, but I’ll be honest I can’t read through another 100 pages of past nonsense. And if I was to guess, then I would say someone from the past was involved in the murder, leaving about 3 suspects, great mystique.
Overall, a promising story that fails to deliver, reeling you in with promise of dark thriller and instead leaving you with a teenagers diary about drinking, smoking, shagging and not much else.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No